Dream
by Nopride4531
Summary: A one shot that analyzes the scene between Hershel and Merle in 3x11, I Ain't A Judas. What made Merle, who doesn't seem like the religious type, actually listen to Hershel and later begin to apologize to other members of the group? Rated T for language and a bit of violence.


**Okay, so how many of you were surprised that Merle actually READ books, let alone knew scripture in the last episode? I know that I was and I decided that the scene between him and Hershel could use a little bit of analyzation. Thus, this one shot was born. **

**Merle may be a bit OOC, but it all depends on how you view him. **

**Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Walking Dead, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction for it now, would I? **

* * *

_Don't look away from the arms of a bad dream._

_Don't look away, sometimes you're better lost than to be seen..._

_-Green Day: the Forgotten_

* * *

_The fact that he had both hands should've tipped him off that it was all a dream. _

_Then again, he'd never been one for much of anything, much less deductive reasoning. So as fate would have it, he remained unconscious and allowed his sleeping mind to lead him through the land of false reality. As far as he could tell, everything at the prison seemed to be in order, or as in order as it could be. The little blonde girl was holding the baby, comforting it as it cried, probably wanting more food than they had. Her sister was sitting next to her with a far away tint in her gaze that seemed to suggest she wasn't completely okay after what happened in Woodbury. The Chinese- KOREAN- kid was hovering protectively over both of them and every so often, he and Merle would catch each other's eyes and one or both of them would begin to glare. Then they would look away and the whole process started over again._

_This went on for a while as Merle impatiently waited for his brother and Officer-freaking-Friendly to return from once again clearing out the tombs. He'd wanted to go with the two of them (after three days of being locked in a cell with nothing to do, he was DYING to kill some walkers), but apparently he was still considered "dangerous," "vulgar," "impulsive," and his personal favorite, "untrustworthy." Please. Hadn't he proved himself when he shoved a steel rod through that biter's head to save Officer Crazy? _

_He definitely thought so. _

_This realization was about to make him stand up and prove one of the traits he'd acquired for himself, but just as he opened his mouth, Rick burst into the room, half carrying half dragging a bloody Daryl. Merle was on his feet within a fraction of a second as the uninjured of the two men hurried the other toward a chair, but didn't quite make it that far. They both collapsed to the floor, landing hard and knocking what little breath remained in Daryl's lungs. While Rick panicked because of this, the doctor's named was screamed by one of the girls, sheer terror echoing in their voices. Merle hardly even heard them as he ran over and knelt next to his brother, all of the blood freezing in his veins. _

_It was bad. Deep. Painful..._

_Deadly._

_And he knew it too. _

_The Doc- Hershel- Merle suddenly remembered, quickly approached, medical tools in hand as he asked what happened. Rick was hardly able to utter a coherent sentence, sputtering how he and Daryl had been putting down walkers, how he hadn't even seen him when he swung the machete and caught him in the chest. The officer's cries of 'I'm so sorry' meant nothing to Merle, whose mind could only accept the idea that what had happened to his brother was Rick's fault. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to move, let alone kill the son of a bitch__ as he mutely watched Hershel examine the bloody slash mark on Daryl's chest. _

_Agonizing minutes went by as everyone held their breath while the doctor struggled to save the life of perhaps the most important member of the group. _

_But it was futile._

_And the verdict was reached. _

_He didn't need to hear the sound of his brother's breathing stop, didn't need to see the doctor shake his head in defeat. Something inside Merle snapped and he lunged at Rick, only to be effectively held back by Glenn and Maggie. He screamed at the man that it was his fault, that he should've let him go with them..._

_But then he stopped._

_Because he realized that what he was saying was absolutely false. _

_Daryl didn't die because of what Officer Crazy had done. __He'd died because of what MERLE did, __because of his refusal to start over. To attempt to do better..._

_To change. __And that wasn't anyone's fault but his own._

_As he contemplated this certainty, the gruesome scene before him seemed to fade into the atmosphere. The blood, the screams, the suffering... They were all replaced by large trees, redwoods by the looks of it, and the sound of water rushing over rocks in a brook. Merle glanced around and for the first time, his mind began to realize that something was definitely amiss. He took in the moss growing on the tree trunks, the soft earth beneath his shoes, and the blue sky above him with little emotion, that broken feeling inside of him still far from vacillating. Nothing mattered anymore._

_Nothing at all. _

_"And if your right hand offends you, cut it off. Cast is from you. For it is profitable that one of your members should perish..."_

_The voice was eerily calm and steady and as Merle whipped around, the image of a man materialized in front of him. Sporting a formal black suit and a white dress shirt, he took a few steps toward the enraged southerner and stopped about ten feet away._

_"Who the hell are you?" Merle snarled, managing to make his voice sound dangerous as his eyes locked on the pocket-watch that was in the man's firm grasp. _

_"And not that thy whole body should be cast into Hell," he finished, a look of ancient knowledge burried in his emerald gaze as he checked the time._

_Not really knowing what to say, Merle decided to keep his mouth shut and see what happened next._

_"Do you know why I'm here?" The man said without making eye contact as the call of a bird drifted overhead._

_"No."_

_One worded answers were good. It would be harder for his voice to break if he kept his responses short. _

_"Your brother isn't really dead, y'know."_

_Despite how hard he tried to hide it, Merle couldn't help the relief that appeared on his face and he relaxed into a more casual stance. _

_"But he will be... Unless you learn how to get along with others."_

_Silence._

_"I've seen this happen too many times to let it happen again while sitting idly by."_

_More silence._

_"My schedule is already full enough as it is and if I have to drop everything to take one more God forsaken soul..."_

_He looked Merle in his tortured gaze and hardened his voice. _

_"I. Won't. Do it." _

_"..."_

_"So shape up and get your shit together..."_

_Sound as well as scenery began to fade and Merle barely managed to catch the last part of the man's statement._

_"...Because unlike others, you actually have a chance to turn things around." _

* * *

"...And if your right hand offends you, cut it off. Cast it from you..."

Merle raised his eyes and met the doctor's gaze, a genuine smile almost forming on his usually stoic face.

"For it is profitable that one of your members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into Hell."

* * *

**Okay, so I hope that you liked this! Please review and let me know how I did :)**

**-Nopride **


End file.
